


Your Shirt Doesn't Suck

by backstagebadger



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/M, M/M, No Demigods, No Smut, Spring Break, college beans, linguistics and nursing, love that single leo, solangelo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-11-18 18:35:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11296425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/backstagebadger/pseuds/backstagebadger
Summary: Home from school on Spring Break and all Will Solace wants to do is study.What happens? Certainly not studying.





	1. Excuses, excuses, William...

Will sat hunched over his laptop. Around him were half a dozen open books, exposing various medical journals and textbooks. This was how he spent every Friday night. Will Solace was not a party guy per se… He was going to get this done if it meant his eyes bled, if that tells you anything about him. His arms found themselves folding on top of a thick, pre-owned textbook and his head resting on his arms. A little nap wouldn’t kill him, right?

“Hey! Blondie!” A voice called. A pair of hands that hopefully accompanied the voice snapped Will out of his daze. Turning his head of shaggy hair towards the sound, he noticed it was his sister, Kayla. She was pretty close to his age, but by far the wilder of the pair. You could tell by her faded green hair, a touch of bleach blond peeking through, and the darker brownish roots. 

Will sighed. “Can I help you?” He asked, a touch of his Texas drawl creeping through. As soon as Will and Kayla figured out how (apparently) classless their accents made them sound to anyone not from Texas, they immediately did their best to banish them, but a lifelong southern upbring stuck to Will like glue.

The green haired girl bobbed her head up and down. “Um, maybe you should get out of your room and… I dunno, go do something? All I hear from you is pencils on paper. It’s spring break, Will.” Kayla barked. She crossed her freckled arms over her chest and leaned against the doorframe. Will turned his rolling desk chair around to face her. “You’re home for, like, no time, and you waste it on school? Why’d you even come, then?”

“I was hanging out downstairs all day yesterday, Kayla.” He bit back.

Kayla checked her nails. “Excuses, excuses, William.”

“Don’t-”

“Mom’s complaining about you, Will. She said you need to go out, make friends. It is literally a Friday night. Go.”

Either that was true, or a wicked good excuse, and Kayla knew it. Will Solace was Mom Whipped. There was no way to lightly play the mom-card around him. It was go big, or go home. 

“I-”

“There’s a really nice club downtown. Go meet some girls.”

“Actually, why-”

“Or boys.” Kayla grinned and walked down the hall and back to her room. The joys of being home. Being back with your kid sister… 

Will sighed loudly and threw his head back. He stretched his tan arms above his head, letting out a yawn he didn’t realize he’d been holding back. In all honesty, he knew she was right. The blonde spun his chair around and stared at his laptop. It was a silver Macbook, but he’d filled the inner rim and keyboard with little stickers of flowers, stars, and these great little cactus stickers. He thought it looked cute. Deciding he’d talk to his mom, he shut the lid of his laptop and made for the door.

He could still remember which of the stairs creaked and did his best to skip them. Will had fallen down the stairs at least two-thousand times as a child. The young man remembered the familiar scar above his left eyebrow. It was received after skipping one too many steps than seven year old Will’s little legs could handle, and he slid the rest of the way down the oak steps, slamming his undeveloped cranium into the banister. Four stitches, two ice creams, and an hour spent questioning the ER nurses about the hospital (he still has a framed photo of him and the poor pair of nurses), and he was as good as new.

“Momma? You down here?” Will asked. Half of him hoped she hadn’t heard so he could go back upstairs.

“In here, hun!” A one Naomi Solace called from the dining room. Will strolled in, noticing pictures spread across the table. Scrapbooking. Again. She always did this when she had off from work.

Have you ever gone out on field, or youth group trip and had that one chaperone that calls for a “kodak moment” at every notable location? Naomi Solace. She had disgustingly huge books filled with pictures of the Solace siblings at every stage in their growth.

Will leaned against the doorframe. “Scrapbooking?”

“Of course, sweetheart.” Naomi Solace was also a true Texan woman. Southern, kind, snippy, drinker of ice tea. “Come’n sit.” She motioned to the chair beside her. Will pulled a chair out from under the table and sat down. There was a moment of quiet as she stuck tiny rubber dots of adhesive on all four corners of some picture of Will’s high school graduation. He looked dopey in the picture, his stupid graduation cap smooshing his wild curls down and exposing his ears. “What’re you thinking about?” his mother asked.

Will ran a hand through some of his hair. He just had a haircut before coming home. It felt too short. “Were you counting on needing my help tonight? I was thinkin’ of going out…” Will’s words sounded like less of a statement and more like question. Like he was asking for approval.

Naomi put her stickers made of glue down, and look at him. “Since when do you wanna ‘go out?” Naomi Solace was also famously a former party girl according to every middle aged woman who’d brought a casserole over for Will and Kayla during one of their mom’s twenty-four hour shifts. Will shrugged.

“Kayla basically implied that I was lonely because-”

“You have friends!”

Will paused and shot his mother the infamous ‘are you joking’ look.

“You do! There’s… There’s, oh! Do you still speak to Lou Ellen?”

“Yeah, but she’s out of state, and so’s everyone else I grew up with.”

The blonde woman let out a sigh. “I can’t believe you let your sister guilt trip you into having a complex…” Will was prepared to fire back a complaint. “You don’t have to ask me for permission, Will, you’re an adult. Have a good time.” Naomi smiled, taking up her gluedots once again.

Will leaned across the edge of the table and pressed a kiss to his mother’s cheek. “Thanks, momma.” He stood up and pushed his chair in.  
Once in his room, he changed quickly. An unbuttoned floral shirt over an X-File tee, and some denim shorts. He glanced at himself in the bathroom mirror on his way downstairs, and shuffled some of his curls around, Will noted to try to look less tired. In a minute he was downstairs at the door. His hand closed around doorknob.

“Don’t let anybody buy you a drink, no smoking, no unprotected sex! You’re too young to be dealing with a kid.” Naomi called, still in the dining room.

“MOM!”


	2. Yeah, and he's annoying as shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings: little bit of foul language, briefly implied sex, drinking in a dance club.
> 
> thank you guys for reading this, and for your positive feedback!

The club itself actually seemed tame from the outside. Much different than the ones he’d seen near the Emerson campus in Boston. Will parked his car, a 2006 Jeep Wrangler. He loved that car, but she was such an ugly brown. She was called Paula. Tumbling out of the car, the tall boy travelled up to the building. He could feel a little bit of bass, but it was nothing close to the W Clubs in Boston with the lines wrapped around the street corner.. Really, the only thing that defined it as a club was the flashing lights that made themselves visible every time the doors swung open.

Will removed the glasses he was supposed to wear all the time, but only actually wore during classes and while driving. They had black, cheap, plastic frames, and were quickly stashed in his pocket. When he approached the door, he stepped into a very short line of about seven people. Quickly, two had left to pursue other locations, and the other five were ushered inside as other left. Reaching the tall white guy at the door, he was prompted for his license. The bouncer glanced between the plastic card and Will, then he withdrew a sharpie from his pocket and briskly scribbled a black ‘X’ on the back of both of Will’s hands, gave him his ID back, and pushed the door open. 

The wall of loud music hit him first, then the hot air from quite a few people being in such close proximity to each other. Although, it was navigable and friendly. There was a dance floor where people bopped up and down to R.E.M, or Sia, and a bar, mostly full of stupid younger guys. He was unsure of which way to walk. Will didn’t really drink, so his feet started to carry him towards a table on the other side of the bar.

“Solace? Solace, is that you?” 

Will pivoted back towards the bar, and made eye contact with one stupid younger guy, a familiar stupid younger guy. “Leo!” Will crossed from the door to the outdated lime green bar top.

Leo Valdez had gone to high school with Will, but he transferred to a place in New York for his Senior year. Will was shocked to seem him here for break. He hadn’t come back for any spring, winter, or summer break before. No one could blame him, though. Leo didn’t really have any local family. At least, no local family he go along with. The Mexican boy’s wildly curly hair looked surprisingly tame, for Leo at least, his face was thinner, and his clothing was surprisingly clean. But his two thousand white smile hadn’t changed at all.   
In a heartbeat, Leo was off his barstool, and wrapping his arms around Will. “Dude, I missed you!” Leo shouted over the music. 

“Back at you!” Will replied.

Leo pulled back from the hug and stared at Will, smiling. “When did you cut your hair, and why haven’t you posted a picture of it? You look hot.” Leo jeered. The pair had kept in contact to some degree, but hadn’t spoken in a few weeks.

Will smiled awkwardly. He never knew how to take compliments. “Mom hates it long, so I cut it all off before coming home… More important question, what’re you doing here? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming home?” Will crossed his arms jokingly. In his childhood, he’d quickly stolen the rank of the give-a-shit friend, the Mom Friend, if you will. He learned to live up to it.

“Well, Jason and Piper always come’n visit me out in New York, but we’ve never gone anywhere else, so why not go back home together?” Leo had ended up with an engineering scholarship at this crazy good school in the city, after working as a thinktank apprentice during high school. He left with no word of where he was going, and everyone believed him to be missing. Until the postcards from New York started to pour in. Will was crazy mad for weeks.

Will nodded. “Are they here?” The blonde had never been close to Jason and Piper. They were older, like Leo, but once Leo left, Will didn’t really hang out with the couple much. No animosity, they just existed on different planes. 

Leo nodded vigorously. “Yeah, but they just went to the bathroom…”

“What-oh…” Will realized the weight of the statement. He immediately felt uncomfortable. Leo nodded again, but gravely.

Clearly looking for a subject change, Leo glanced back at the bar, spotting his friend. “Uh, Will, come meet Nico!” Leo’s warm, sweaty hand reached out for Will’s arm. The fast talking boy dragged Will back towards the bar. The smell was enough to make him wrinkle his nose. 

Leo released hold of Will’s shirt sleeve, and tapped the shoulder of a dark haired boy sitting at the bar, nursing a glasses of something… It was a translucently green, thin liquid. Will knew next to nothing about liquor, so he didn’t pretend to know what it was. The guy on the barstool turned around and stared at Leo. “Oh, you came back? I thought you’d left me again.” He deadpanned. Even over the pounding music, this Nico guy had one of the strangest, brash sounding voices Will had ever heard. Clear as a bell, very forward and nasally sounding. It didn’t fit the way he dressed at all. You don’t expect knockoff bikers to sound like an upset child.

Leo laughed heartily at him. “Nico, I want you to meet Will Solace. He’s a friend from high school. He made a large sweeping gesture to indicate his friend’s presence. Will waved meekly, then extended his hand to Nico. Another stark feature of Nico’s made itself known when he set his drink down and took Will’s hand to shake. Nico’s hands were clammy and freezing cold. It was shocking to a med student like Will, who spent hours diagnosing circulation issues. 

“Nico di Angelo, pleasure.” His dark eyes looked Will up and down. They didn’t seem critical, or calculating, though. 

“Yeah, you too.” Will pulled back from the handshake, and placed both of his hands in his pockets.

Leo looked back at Nico. “He’s good friends with Jason, and my roommate this year.”

“Yeah, and he’s annoying as shit.”

“Oh, what’s your major?” Will asked loudly over the music, ignoring the prior comment from the dark haired boy. His hair was super shaggy, and long, but not weird-nerd-with-a-ponytail long.

Nico down the rest of his weird, alien drink. “Linguistics. English minor.” he said so quietly, Will almost had to ask again. Leo took the open seat beside the olive skinned boy.   
Will nodded. “I’m a med student.”

Leo interrupted the awkward kind of conversation Will was afraid of by trying to flag over the bartender, who was flirting with some girl at the other end of the bar. “You need a drink, Will.”

“Oh, I don’t… I don’t drink.”

Tossing some curls out of his face, Leo stared incredulously at the freckled boy. “You’re joking. Just live a little. One drink won’t kill you.”  
Will huffed. “First of all, I don’t like the smell, or the taste.” One of Will’s hands removed itself from his pocket. “Second of all,” he counted with his fingers. “It’s a depressant and an addictive substance. I’m not really into liver spots by thirty.” He pointed at Leo. “But if you are, don’t start cryin’ to me when I’m driving your ass to AA meetings.”

Leo shook his head crossly, and leaned grumpily against the bar. “Enough. Leave me be. Let me make poor choices in piece.”

There was a moment of ‘silence’ between the three, until suddenly threw his head back laughing. Both Will and Leo looked surprised. His laugh was loud and barking. “Oh my god, that was fantastic.” Nico chuckled. Leo slowly turned his head and stared up at Will. His face seemed baffled, more so than usual.

Awkwardly, Will joined in laughing. The other boy’s laugh was infectious. Will’s just sounded like windshield wipers on a dry windshield. “di Angelo, you are so drunk. You… You just don’t… Express? What is this?” Leo said, his vicious smile growing.

“I am not drunk, I’ve had one drink. Just watching people bully you that aren’t me gets me, I cannot lie.” Nico smirked, calming down and returning to his smirk. Will noted that when he laughed, one side of his nose crinkled upward. It made him look like a kitten. A very intimidating one, but all the same. Nico had tight black pants-frankly, Will didn’t know how he pulled them over his ankles in the first place-, and a baggy Ramones shirt. Across his lap sat a discarded denim jacket that it was much too hot for inside this building, or outside. 

“Ha, ha, you’re just too funny.” Leo said sarcastically. He rolled his eyes and looked at Will. “The two of us, and Jason and Piper are gonna hang out tomorrow, you wanna join?” The engineer’s eyes looked eager and honest as he spoke.

Will smiled a bit. “You sure I won’t be crashing?”

“Nah.”

“Well, then you can count me in.” Making friends. He could almost see the smug, proud looks on Kayla and his mom’s faces. “Who’s driving you guys home?” Will asked. Leo pointed to Nico, and Nico pointed to himself. “So, your designated driver has been drinking... Awesome,” Will, ran a hand through his hair, almost being shocked at how short it was. He kept forgetting. “Well, I’m your designated driver now.”


	3. Soundin' how the Cowboy from the Village People looks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is officially the longest i've ever made it into anything i've written since i was a kid. that is the case for two reasons. one, i primarily write poems. two, i am a flaky bastard. either way, this is a personal milestone. thanks for reading!
> 
> warnings: a little bit of language, and a whole lot of awkward.

 

“I’m going out for the day! Be back before dinner!” Will shouted to deaf ears. He didn't think anybody was in the house, be he just wanted to double check before leaving. And he left a note so there were no panicked phone calls later. Will contemplated going back inside and taking the note off the fridge… He had to keep reminding himself that he was, in fact, an adult. He legally went to a bar with his friends last night, he goes to college halfway across the country, and he still feels inclined to leave a  _ note _ on the  _ refrigerator _ telling his  _ mother _ where he’s going. Woof.

 

The group from last night, Leo; Nico; Jason, and Piper, had planned to meet downtown. It was several blocks of shops, dining, and destroyed statues depicting racist civil war generals. Will was told to meet at this ice cream place called Pink Mama Ice Cream. When his car pulled up out front, Will smirked a little. This joint definitely lived up to it’s name… Pink. Everywhere. The whole storefront, interior. A neon pink, a pale pink, a magenta. Frankly, it was impressive. He sat in the parking lot and waited on the caravan with the others.

 

It wasn't exactly a  _ caravan of cars _ like Will had expected, but actually one very small Toyota Camrey. Silver. The back door swung open, and Leo fell out of the car. Nico climbed out the other side, and Piper and Jason from the front, with Piper driving. Will slide out of his car, and made himself known to the others. “Hey!” He hollered, as he strolled over. Will brushed some hair over his ear and felt the ear piece of his glasses. They were instantly removed and shoved away again. Leo visibly flinched at Will’s words. His face seemed oddly pale, too.  _ Hungover… Shocker.  _  Will thought. The others all looked fine, but Leo was small, had a lot to drink, and it didn't mix well with his meds, Will assumed.

 

“Hey, Solace! What's goin’?” Jason asked. He was West Coast before he lived on the West Coast. Jason’s hair could defy gravity. It was blonde, a paler blond than Will’s, and full of gel. He was built like a brick wall. It was intimidating. As if it wouldn't be awkward, Jason pulled the skinnier boy into a “Bro Hug.”

 

“Ha, nothing much! Same as yesterday.” Will answered. Piper clung to Will’s arm, pulling him into another hug.

 

“I'm really glad you decided to join us.” She told him. Piper McLean’s hair always looked exquisite, but especially so today. Brown, several braids, a couple had beads at the end of her brunette strands. She had an arm around him, hugging him. Will had a massive crush on Piper in fifth grade. He admired her ability to get down and make a mess at the lake, or the pool. The crush had long since gone, but her beauty and casual attitude continued, which made Will grin. “How about that ice cream?”

 

The whole group walked inside the overly colored shop. Nico, in his faded Teenage Bottlerocket shirt, and Doc Martins stuck out like a sore thumb, and he knew it. He was outwardly appalled by it.  His nose was wrinkled. “What the hell, Valdez?” Nico asked, regarding their location. 

 

“Did you see those Yelp reviews, man? How could we not?” Leo muttered. With Nico booze-free, and not inside a booming dance club, a slight accent was detectable. It really was barely there, but it was something vaguely… Will didn’t really know. He’d ask later. Jason was already at the counter, ordering something chocolate-y with a bunch of obscure mix-ins. Hearing enough of the arduous duo, Will placed his glasses back on so he could read the menu without looking like a human mole. 

After everyone had ordered, and picked up their ice cream, they voted to head out and walk around, instead of eating inside. “Nico-” Jason began, a smile rising on his face.

 

“Don’t even.” Nico quipped.

 

Jason was referring to how actually hilarious Nico looking holding a pink ice cream cone. It definitely didn’t match the overdone-emo kid-who-never-grew up vibe. So, it was super laughable. Piper let out a vulpine laugh. 

 

Will, although he was enjoying his watermelon sorbet, felt bad. He clearly wasn’t that close with the others anymore, he’d never even met Nico before. Maybe this had been a mistake. 

 

“Ground control to Major Tom!” Leo bellowed, teasingly waving a hand in front of Will’s face. 

 

“Sorry, sorry.” He swatted Leo’s tanned hand away. “What’s the question?” 

 

“I’m going to the arcade, no one else wants to. Piper and Jason want to go to…”  Leo looked over his shoulder at where the pair had been just minutes before. “Wherever they went. And Nico’s heading to the bookstore. What’re you doing? Wait, wait, wait, don’t tell me… Books, right?”

 

Will nodded. Why in the world would he want to go anywhere else? 

 

“Cool. Meet up here in, like, an hour, ‘kay?” Leo finished. 

 

They both headed in opposite directions. Will made a mental note to meet at the corroded Robert E. Lee statue at 3:45. 

 

Pushing the door open triggered a familiar bell above the door. Will was  _ really  _ nerdy as a kid, and spent too much time in this place,  _ Olympia Books _ . It was a used book store, and it was beautiful. He smiled at the stale paper smell. His feet carried him straight back to Non-Fiction. 

 

“Well, I’ll be damned… is that Will Solace,?” The man tending to the counter called. Will whipped around. It was a stout, slightly balding middle aged man. Mr. D. His name was apparently “very greek” and “you wouldn’t be able to say it anyway,” so he went by Mr. D. It was on his nametag and everything. He’d been working here way before Will could even drive. Which was funny, because the grumpy man constantly reminded all the patrons he hated his job.

 

“Mr. D, hey.” Will smiled. 

 

“Kid, you look so… old, wow. Jesus Christ, that makes me feel old.” The man shook his head back and forth. “Go on and buy something, or I’ll have to throw you out for loitering.”

 

“Yes sir.” Will replied good naturedly. And yet again, he attempted to walk down to Non-Fiction. On his walk, he passed by Nico, who was going through a stack of translated epic poems he had spread out on the floor. Will felt awkward just approaching him and striking up a conversation.  _ Would that be weird? _ He asked himself, kneeling next to the dark haired boy.  _ Only one way to find out _ .

 

“Oh, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Great choice.”

 

Nico sharply inhaled, and turned to look over at Will. Apparently, he hadn't heard Will walk over. “Jesus God, don't do that!” Nico whispered harshly, putting a hand to his chest.

 

Will bit his lip in order to disguise a smile. “Sorry, sorry. Thought you heard me.”

 

Nico didn't answer immediately, but instead, turned the worn paperback over in his hands. “You’re lucky you've always been around this place. It’s beautiful.” He said softly. Nico’s eyes widened. He didn't want to sound stalker-y.“I heard you talking to the, uh, clerk.” Nico seemed unsure of his word choice. “No offense, but you're... pretty loud.” His dark colored eyes, Will wasn't sure if they were brown, or blackish, never left the back of book.

 

Will sat on the 1970’s shag carpet, full of mysterious stains, beside Nico and yanked a couple of books on Anglo Saxon mythology off the shelf. Frankly, he didn't have much interest in the subject. “Oh. Thanks.”  _ That's the best you could do?  _ Nico sent a sideways glance in his direction.

 

“Arthurian Encyclopedia. Didn't think you’d have any interest.”

 

Busted.

 

“Uh, well, it's because I don't.” It was phrased like a statement, but fell off of Will’s tongue like a question. “I mean, I  _ could,  _ I’ve just never looked into it before.” He laughed uncomfortably. Nico stared at him with those cold eyes. Will avert his gaze back down to the floor.

 

“You're… You’re definitely a character, aren't you?” Nico mumbled. He set the thin paperback down. “That was incredibly rude. Wow.”

 

Will was too busy wondering how it was possibly for human beings to sound like that to be offended. His voice baffled the shit out of Will. It was harsh, and brisk, but there was a lolling softness in the way his indeterminate accent naturally lilted. By this point, he was sure it wasn't an American accent. Will shrugged his wide shoulders. “Don't worry about it. Urm, if you don't mind my askin’,”  _ Take it down a notch, you sound like a Cowboy, silly. _ “Where’re you from?”

 

“You mean before New York, yeah?” Nico asked.

 

Will nodded.

 

“I'm surprised you haven't figured it out. I literally have the most ethnic sounding name. Nico di Angelo. Take a wild guess.” Nico said sarcastically.

 

If Will didn't already feel like a major idiot, he certainly did now. He nodded. “How long have you been in America?” The blonde questioned.

 

Nico seemed to start becoming disinterested in the conversation (Will would learn later that he was most definitely interested). “We left Italy when I was eight, or nine. Lived in Brazil ‘til I was ten, then moved to Long Island.” 

 

Will nodded again. He was beginning to feel an awful lot like a bobble head. Quickly, he was reshelving the books, then standing, not wanting to bother Nico any longer. “That's really cool. I guess you've seen a lot of places.”  _ And you're babbling.  _ “I almost didn't notice your accent, actually. It’s just enough to be interesting, and here I am, soundin’ how the cowboy from the  _ Village People _ looks _.  _ Ha, ha…”

 

There was another silence between them. “A  _ Village People  _ joke? Is that your way of telling me you’re gay, because your shirt was a dead giveaway.” Nico smirked.

 

As Will backed up to turn the corner of the bookshelf, he looked down to see what was printed on the shirt he’d grabbed out of his drawer. Culture Club. Of course. 

 

“B-By the way, Will.” A blush dusted itself over his pale olive cheeks. “Your shirt doesn't suck.”


End file.
